Grandmother inspired skating fundraiser

December 28, 2013

LAKE PLACID - High school senior Emily Godin plans to host a skating event New Year's Day to raise money to fight cancer.

Godin told the Enterprise she was inspired to use her senior project to raise money for the cause because her grandmother died from cancer in May of this year. She and her dad thought of the idea after brainstorming for a bit.

"It took me a while to think of something," Godin said. "I kind of wanted to do something big in honor of losing my grandmother."

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Some ice skaters are confident, others unsure Friday at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Lake Placid.(Photo for the Enterprise — Andy Flynn)

She said she was close with her grandmother, who originally lived in Tupper Lake then moved to New Hampshire. Grandma spent a few weeks in Lake Placid last summer to take care of Godin while she was in the hospital after she tore her ACL. This year, Godin and her family were the ones taking care of her grandmother in the hospital.

Godin plays on her high school hockey team, so she thought a skating event would be fun.

Once they had the idea, Godin went to her cousin, who works at the Olympic Center, to ask him how much it would cost to rent out the Olympic Speed Skating Oval for five hours. He told her the state Olympic Regional Development Authority would donate the ice time, so she booked the event for noon to 5 p.m. New Year's Day.

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She is still working out the details, but she hopes to make arrangements so that people will be able to rent skates right at the oval. If that doesn't work out, they can go to one of the shops across the street and rent them, she said.

Godin wanted to find things for people to do in addition to skating the oval, so she and her father got donations of goods and gift certificates from about 30 businesses throughout Lake Placid. Anyone who donates $5 or more when they come to the event will get a raffle ticket or two to enter to win prizes, which will be given away every 20 minutes or so.

She also asked the boys and girls hockey teams to donate baked goods for a bake sale at the event.

"Hopefully we're going to have a good turnout of food," she said.

The first 100 people who come and make a donation will also get a winter hat.

Godin said she will also sell purple balloons with white ribbons. People will be able to buy one and write on it the name of someone who battled cancer; then everyone who bought a balloon will release it into the air at the same time.